7 - Down the hole, went Alice

Jiushu unblinkingly stared at her farm.

The rice is yellowing at a visible rate. In a few minutes, the field went from green to yellow, from having muddy ground to cracked ground.

Then as if by magic, all the rice got cut, gathered at the end of field, the grains separated and vanished. The granary glowed for a moment, then stayed silent.

Jiushu checked her granary. There are indeed another five hundred catties of grain.

She sighed, and checked to see if she could plant in the field immediately. She couldn't. It seems the farming ground always needs a thirty minute recuperation time.

Jiushu left the space, since she got time anyway, she went out and offered her prayers to angels. Her guardian angel sighed happily, as another wrinkle on her face disappeared.

Jiushu blankly stared at the sky. Today is a moonless night. The starry sky couldn't look more beautiful.

Jiushu lost herself to the beautiful sight for a few moments. She has not had free time like this since she has come to this world.

She was too scared to leave on her own the first few days, she was too tired to leave the next few. Now that she has started travelling alone, she is like a duckweed, drifting along the current.

None of her friends are here. Her graduation was just around the corner. She was looking forward to it. She had a thousand and one reasons to look forward to life. Yet, she died.

Now, here she is with not a single bond to anchor her to life, yet, she has best help to continue her life. Her thoughts flow like that in a thousand different directions, till all that is left in her head is an emptiness.

Then she realized something.

There is no big bear.

There is no pole star.

Hells, there is no hunter.

…

..

.

She realized this is another world, but even then with the sun and moon and cycle of seasons she thought is just like earth.

If the constellations are this different, what else is different?

Gods.. don't say there are going to be elves, dwarves and cultivation monsters.

Then she calmed down. If there were such things, she would have heard about them by now, either in fairy tales or news.

All the same, she has a goal now. She will roam the world, just as her ancestors did with a yurt and store at least a sapling of every species of plant in her storage.

Congratulations!!!

You have activated the main mission of your artifact. 

You can fulfill the mission at your own sweet time.

Words popped out in front of her. Jiushu waved them away. 

Meanwhile, she would find out every last power in the world and see if one of them could get an internet connection for her.

Let's face it. Between losing internet connection right now, and world peace, what would you choose? She has no idea about others, but there is wisdom in saying choose to do what you can rather than what others say you should.

her choice is keeping her internet connection over world peace. 

Good people are good people wherever they are.

Bad people are bad people whatever they have.

She is neither good or bad, she is more like the dust mites that keep flying in sunlight. Not of this world. Bound to this world only with power and will of an angel.

So, she will live like her ancestors, home is where she hangs her hat. Once she has decided that, her whole being felt lighter.

Don't know what the angel wants, but this is what she decided upon. First step is to go to the top of the mountain, and figure out which way to go.

The next day Jiushu woke up in good spirits. Only half of the grain she left yesterday is processed.

she stored the milled rice in the space.

She told Moqiu's parents she will pay extra five percent of the grain for keeping her identity a secret. They agreed happily.

In the first place, they both are not from the village, so the villagers ostracized them.

Moqiu's mother is from a scholarly family, father, from a military family. Thus they are probably people with special identities who are thrown out in exile. Jiushu did not ask further.

They lived alright till now because Moqiu's father is an exceptionally good hunter, but he hurt his leg last month.

It is Moqiu who drew the blueprint for the rice mill and made it with his father. However, their house is too remote, their relationship with the villagers lukewarm at best, so the villagers did not come here at all.

Probably, it is going to be the same in near future. It's good news for Jiushu who wants her identity kept secret.

Moqiu came along with her to the mountain top, trotting seriously behind her. Annoyance on his face grew more and more with each muddy step.

The path is far too muddy, and it is going to be so almost all the way till the top where there is a large single stone at the summit. Jiushu wondered why he looked so annoyed with the mud.

It's not like she is bad company, nor is it like he has other interesting pursuits, moreover, it has been six months since he came here, so it's not like he is not used to the ancient way of moving around.

What in the world is so annoying? …

Then it struck her.

Movement.

Yesterday, he was never in place but for a moment when she searched for him.

There was never a sound of steps when he ran. It stands to reason his power is to go from one place to another, thus, he never had to step on muddy roads.

Now, he had to go through a muddy road just to hide his power from herself. Jiushu smiled. No point waiting on it. Patience has never been her virtue.

"You.. ! your power is like teleportation, isn't it?" she asked.

Moqiu was so surprised, for a moment he was about to say yes, but he controlled himself at the last minute.

"It is, isn't it?" Jiushu broke into a peal of laughter, her whole being flush with the pleasure of solving a mystery.

Moqiu decided not to tell her it's more than movement.

"How did you know?" he asked.

"You are angry at the mud." Jiushu answered.

MoQiu looked at her confusedly. What does that have to do with anything?

Jiushu expanded.

"This situation, you should have been long used to it. The muddy roads, the bees and insects .. and all such.

But you are so annoyed at the mud, as if you have never walked on a muddy road, Just like a city boy… Then I remembered, yesterday, there was no sound of steps anywhere.

It stands to reason you usually do not step on mud any time at all, if your power is teleportation. Am I right?" Jiushu asked with sparkling eyes.

Mo Qiu is surprised. He did not attribute that much sense or cognitive ability to Jiushu.

"I told you, I am a scholarship student." she said proudly.

MoQiu let it be.

Their universities mattered little in this world and he went to a university of far better rank. He did not want to burst her bubble.

This is the first time he has seen her smile. After thinking over their conversation yesterday, he wondered if the girl has suicidal tendencies, for she accepted that she will be hunted very easily.

Seeing her smile, he wants to preserve that smile as much as possible.

"Could you take me up without walking?" she asked.

MoQiu came back from his thoughts.

"I never tried." he told her.

"Try now." she said.

Mo Qiu did not want to. It is one thing to tell her he has a power, it is entirely another to show it.

"Please…" Jiushu added belatedly.

Mo Qiu still did not respond.

Jiushu thought for two moments, and decided on doing something she wouldn't be caught dead doing in the real world.

"Please, Big brother… Take me up.." she put her hands together, and blinked them owlishly at him.

"Go alone." Mo Qiu said decisively, and turned around, though smile on his face informed her otherwise.

"I am really going up alone.." Jiushu shouted.

Suddenly, Moqiu's figure vanished.

"Wow.." she breathed in.

She turned around. Mo qiu was there, looking at her.

"Fine. get on. I will take you up." he said, kneeling.

Jiushu smiled and put her hands around his neck.

'Ting.." a sweet sound rang in the jungle for a moment.

It's not about her feelings, but more of a jade hitting jade kind of sound.

Following the tinkle, words appeared immediately in front of her.

Do you want to become allies with the hunter?' [ yes ] [ no ]

Jiushu chose yes decisively before MoQiu could so much as twitch.

"You don't even know what it does." MoQiu admonished her.

"I know it makes me friends with you." Jiushu answered.

She has always been reckless, and she has not hid much from MoQiu. She goes either all the way, or she doesn't even start.

It has always been the type of person she is, so, no point scolding her on that now. MoQiu chose yes grumblingly.

Congratulations!!!

You can use one skill belonging to your ally.

MoQiu stepped on the spot, and reached the summit as soon as the words showed up.

He looked displeased at his own muddy shoes.

The summit is like an upside down snail shell with holes, with the top looming over the invisible abyss.

A more mature and more wise person wouldn't have done what Jiushu did next.

She thought, there are enough holes to drain water, enough wind to dry our clothes.

Thus, she released a rock bowl size of water atop their heads. She did not expect she would wash away into the abyss along with mud on MoQiu's shoes.